David System. Geoffrey and crew have been left behind to administer Oldziey, for the moment.All seems quiet for now. Then again, most archaeological expeditions do not start out by engaging active defenses.Spyboy starts developing an emissions map of the facility, identifying control nodes.The map is blank. Either the facility is completely shielded, or it is powered down.Zinda Tegram leans back in a chair on the bridge and spins in it.
Zinda Tegram: "Another pain in the ass, huh…?"
Zinda Tegram: "So we gonna just fly in and see what's in there or what?"
Spyboy: "If we didn't have reason to believe Kali used this base, I'd say yes."
Spyboy: "But….where Kali is concerned, my paranoia tends towards maximum."
Metis: "Kali's potential presence there, now or former, encourages discretion."
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Didn't I set some plants to iterate some nanite hunter-killers at one point?
[OOC] WC GM: They're being used to clean up Oldziey, yes?
Abraham: "I'm holding on to hope that this is all a more elaborate than usual 'Screw with the newb admiral' prank of Dakka's."
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Yeah but I have the designs.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: …probably.
[OOC] WC GM: Yeah, you do.
Metis: "That is not consistent with our current data on Dakka."
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Hmm. Well, assuming I have any material to work with, it seems wise to manufacture a few.
Abraham: "That is /very/ consistent with the material /I/ have though. Consider how often he has the opportunity to prank a new admiral, especially given the current circumstances. He will make /the most/ out of this opportunity."
Zinda Tegram: "…Confed politics make no damn sense. Do what'cha want."
Zinda Tegram: "I'm gonna go borrow some biomass from your med lab."Zinda Tegram waves without turning around on her way out.
Abraham: "And yet, they usually have a lower fatality rate than Oldziey politics."
Spyboy: "I wasn't gonna say it…"Spyboy starts poring over orbital scans of the facility.Spyboy has access to the full official maps of the facility. Naturally, deep radar scans quickly reveal several extensions not on the maps.
[OOC] Spyboy: Naturally.
[OOC] Metis: How detailed are the scans of the extensions?
[OOC] Spyboy: Deep radar scans, so they'll be very low resolution and take a lot of interpretation.
[OOC] Spyboy: Not really a 3D map of the underground….not from space.There is no spacedock, though there is a landing pad. Solomon being as uninhabited as it is, there are no settlements within 1000 kilometers of the base.
[OOC] Spyboy: Good. If needed, we can call for dustoff, then nuke the site from orbit.
[OOC] Spyboy: It's the only way to be sure.
[OOC] WC GM: Assuming the nukes will penetrate.
[OOC] Spyboy: If the first one doesn't, the next one will….
[OOC] WC GM: But you would slag the landing pad, no problem.
[OOC] Abraham: Quite. A Gray Goo scenario is likely to be more effective.
[OOC] WC GM: Green goo. Or whatever color Zinda is.
[OOC] Abraham: Mauve.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Green.
[OOC] WC GM: Metis could maybe get her to a bright pink?
[OOC] Abraham: Now I wish I said 'Purple'.
[OOC] Spyboy: "Zinda, what is in all these 'memories' that I got from Alfred?"Zinda Tegram nods to the attending doctor in the med bay, "Hey, I need some blood. A few liters should be fine."
[OOC] Metis: Yeah, Zinda's less the 'bright pink' kind and more the 'crimson' kind.The doctor looks like he is about to object, then deflates. He nods to a nurse who is already digging out several IV bags of transfusable blood.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: The goo will be red, naturally.
Zinda Tegram: "Oh, don't waste the transfusable stuff. Do you have any waste?"
Doctor: "…no? That's a biohazard; we dispose of it as soon as we can."
[OOC] Abraham: Zinda, stop vamping the doctor.
Zinda Tegram: "Ah, OK no worries. The good stuff should work fine."
Zinda Tegram: "Sorry to be a pain here. Don't worry it shouldn't be going inside anyone. Probably."
Doctor: "Technically it is, but they're your patients, not ours."
Zinda Tegram: "Uh…yeah, my uh….patients. Yeah, thanks doc."
[OOC] Abraham: Is Zinda deliberately trying to evoke 'Uncanny Valley Girl'?
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Zinda? No. Lapis? Yes.The nurse wordlessly hands over the bags and excuses himself.
[OOC] WC GM: Any further examinations before you head in?
[OOC] WC GM: And who are you taking?
[OOC] Abraham: The nurse was later found passed leaning against the door. Apparently she had laughed herself sick.
[OOC] WC GM: No, the nurse is the other kind of sick. Still hasn't adjusted to the plants, and what Zinda does with them.
Zinda Tegram: "Thanks for the help!"Zinda Tegram leaves, blood in hand.Spyboy heads down with Heggy and launches early, running a few sweeps over the facility with his fighter's (slightly less powerful, significantly more proximate)
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Can just presume she drags it down to her, uh, garden, and grows some hunter killers with it.From closer range, faint signatures can be detected - at least ten meters underground, which would be floor 3 or 4 according to the plans (starting from ground level designated as "floor 0" ).
[OOC] Spyboy: What kind of signatures? EM? Thermal?
[OOC] WC GM: Both.
[OOC] WC GM: More EM, though.Exactly what they are can not be discerned through so much rock and equipment, although some could be a group of Kali's "mites" , and another group are consistent with medium-sized electric motors - what one would have in human-sized robots.
[OOC] WC GM: A nearly impossible level of detail…except for the tech and, well, this is Spyboy we're talking about.
[OOC] Spyboy: To be fair, reading sensors for Spyboy is only at the peak of human ability. It's not like his hacking abilities.
Spyboy: "Roland, this is Spyboy. Picking up some electromagnetic activity about four levels down. Top few levels seem clear."
Spyboy: "….Emphasis on 'seem.'"
Spyboy: "Requesting instructions."Zinda Tegram spins about in space waiting for the confed goons to decide to go in.
[OOC] Spyboy: Hah. Zinda the thug, calling me a goon. =D
[OOC] WC GM: Abraham?
Abraham: "Very well, investigate cautiously."
[OOC] Abraham: Also back.
[OOC] WC GM: Sending Spyboy alone?
[OOC] Spyboy: No, Heggy's with him. <.<
[OOC] Spyboy: Zinda doesn't wanna go, though.
[OOC] WC GM: …what color are their shirts?
[OOC] Abraham: Spyboy and a squad if he requests it.
[OOC] Spyboy: Honestly? Going by Starfleet rules, they'd probably be blue.
[OOC] Spyboy: Or red->yellow, that color is called 'Tactical' after all… <.<
Spyboy: "Roger that. We're proceeding to the landing pad."
B-4: "B-4, solid copy. Proceeding to standard beacon location and beginning landing approach."
Spyboy: "Threat scanner is on full power, we are ready for wild weasel operations at any time."Zinda Tegram lands.
[OOC] Abraham: The greatest collection of covert missions ever! Weasels gone Wild!Heggy proceeds cautiously towards the landing pad, staying close to the approach vector but ready to ram into dodge speed at any time.Heggy's and Spyboy's cautious, procedural landing is interrupted by Zinda just plain landing.There is no risk of collision - transponders aside, the two craft are practically the only blips on radar.
Abraham: "XO. Any reaction to Spyboy's approach?"Eventually the two fighters are down.
ExecutiveOfficer: "Only from Zinda, sir."Zinda Tegram climbs out and drops something…red on the ground, that begins to follow her around.
Spyboy: "Negative on automated defenses. This place is like a tomb."
Spyboy: "…..and now we have bioweapons on the premises."Heggy grimaces.
B-4: "I hate tombs."
Zinda Tegram: "That sort of sends the wrong message doesn't it?"
Abraham: "Spyboy, was that deliberate foreshadowing on your part?"The door leading inside is locked and sealed. There is a handprint scanner next to it.
Zinda Tegram: "It's not infectious."And a retinal scanner above the handprint scanner.
Spyboy: "It was not deliberate. Whether it was foreshadowing will only be determined by hindsight."Zinda Tegram pops her torch and sets to work.Spyboy looks at the handprint scanner and sniffs derisively.
Spyboy: "Well, here's hoping that a military facility next door to the Oldziey system will be vulnerable to classic Oldziey weaponry."The door is much thicker than hull plating.
Spyboy: "Of course…we could simply ask for entry."It seems to have been specifically built to thwart cutting into.
Zinda Tegram: "…What the hell.?"
Zinda Tegram: "Why would you make a door this thick?"
Spyboy: "So that Oldziey raiders can't get in."Zinda Tegram sets to a tunneling pattern.Spyboy pulls out his computer and bypasses the lock.Spyboy quickly determines the access code…and it is not one he has with him. Rather, this is keyed to the Admirals.
Zinda Tegram: "Oh come on, just wait it out. I'll have us through in a bit."
[OOC] Spyboy: Like that would stop me?
[OOC] WC GM: Slow you down. You can break through given time - but it's faster to have Abraham unlock it.
Spyboy: "And by the time you finish, having cut the active power line I see, and the systems have dumped, negating our purpose for being here…"
[OOC] Abraham: The key is… 0… 0… 0… 0… 0. Just like the nuclear launch codes.
Spyboy: "Admiral, the door is, wonder of all wonders, heavy enough that Zinda's not able to wave her torch and cut through. However, we do have the key."
Spyboy: "….It's you, sir. Could you please implement your Admiral status?"
Abraham: "Very well, I'll come down. XO, you have the bridge."
ExecutiveOfficer: "Yes, sir!"Abraham makes his way to his ship and then to the planet.
[OOC] WC GM: Does Metis come with?Metis proceeds along with Abraham.
[OOC] Abraham: If she wants to, but I'm not ordering her.Once there, the handprint and retinal scanners quickly yield to Abraham's presence. The door begins to open…Zinda Tegram sighs.
[OOC] Metis: Ha! I obey no orders! Except from Zinda. (shes scary).
[OOC] WC GM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehRJcFYJ0Bk
[OOC] WC GM: For reference for the door's size.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: I see haha.
[OOC] Spyboy: Heh. I was thinking Vault.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Same.
[OOC] Abraham: I was thinking gothic castle double doors, as seen by Ray Palmer.
Spyboy: "……Now that is a big door."Finally, the door is open. A bit of dust spills out from the unlit insides.
[OOC] Spyboy: Sorry, tradition demands.
Abraham: "It's a big /open/ door. Let's see what's beyond it."
Spyboy: "….I may have been wrong about Kali's presence. That's a lot of dust."
[OOC] WC GM: Yeah, no, bigger door than Vault.
Spyboy: "….And not picking up any electrical fields right now, either."The first room is a standard reception area - that, by the still-present protective plastic sheeting on newly-shipped officeware, appears to have never been used for its intended purpose.Spyboy transmits the map to Metis, if Metis didn't already have a copy
Spyboy: "Perhaps this was an alternate entrance? Though…this was Wenser's base before Kali moved through the area…"
Abraham: "Or this was expected for someone else and they haven't shown up, yet."Security is beyond that - again, never manned. The doors are wedged open, the weapon emplacements neither covered up nor fitted with guns.Zinda Tegram wanders in, red goopy thing trailing her leaving a trail of…blood should never be that red.
Zinda Tegram: "Spooky."Ahead is an elevator shaft and stairs. The elevator doors are open, but only a pair of cables can be seen.
Zinda Tegram: "….There any stairs?"
Abraham: "Somewhat eerie, I admit."
Abraham: "That is a good question."
Spyboy: "…I'm not seeing any on the map…which is odd."Metis looks over at the stairs on the right… but doesn't say anything, because if they don't notice them, then maybe they aren't actually stairs?
Abraham: "Ah, I think I see the stairs."
[OOC] Metis: Of course, this all gets broadcasted anyways, so its a lot like pointing 'look stairs!'
[OOC] WC GM: So, Metis stares at the stairs?
[OOC] Metis: Shhhh.
[OOC] Abraham: Of course, the question is 'Are the stairs wrapped in plastic as well?'
[OOC] WC GM: Nope. Stone.Abraham looks at the stairs. Do they go in both directions?The stairs only go down from here.
Zinda Tegram: "Well, before we go…"Zinda Tegram pulls out a sensor ball and drops it down the shaft.
[OOC] Abraham: Is heggy here as well, or did she stay with the fighter?
[OOC] Spyboy: She's here.
[OOC] Metis: If she was smart, with the fighter.
[OOC] Spyboy: She married Spyboy.
[OOC] Abraham: Also. I attempt to disbelieve.The sensor ball blips, blips, blips as it falls…
[OOC] Spyboy: Resolve check? =p
[OOC] WC GM: If you wish.
[OOC] Abraham: Oh hey, I got resolve…
Abraham: "Anything interesting Zinda?"
[OOC] WC GM: Unfortunately it's a difficulty infinity check. The stairs really are there. :P
[OOC] Abraham: Nooooooo!The sensor ball goes through four floors before smashing into the elevator car on the fifth floor. It does not survive the drop.
[OOC] Metis: The installation of the elevator made the stairs obsolete? Also, is said elevator car in motion?
[OOC] WC GM: Power's out, so elevator seems to be on the bottom floor. It is not in motion.
[OOC] Abraham: The stars were probably needed to install the elevator.From quick pictures out the open doors on the way, it looks like the floor immediately below is a hangar bay that the landing pad could retract into…if there was power. The floor below that was clearly a reactor room, with floor marks and the remains of thick wires where the fusion reactors were once installed.Metis turns in a slow circle, studying the built-but-possibly-never-used-room. "For what purpose would this structure be made that would leave it uninhabited?"
Zinda Tegram: "A distraction, I think."The floor below that has corridors. The probe was only able to snap a single picture as it passed by - a dimly lit corridor, even with the probe's light enhancement. A couple humanoid figures can be faintly made out at the end of the corridor facing the elevator.
Abraham: "Or the inhabitants haven't shown up yet."
Spyboy: "….Calling it, sir?"
Zinda Tegram: "Well, let's go see what we're looking at."
Spyboy: "Some of the readings that I got seemed like they could be Kalibot swarms. And Wenser wouldn't require physical surface access."Zinda Tegram pushes open the door and starts walking towards the elevator.Abraham relays what they have found so far for the logs.
[OOC] WC GM: The door is already open. There's an elevator shaft.
Spyboy: "….That's another oddity…"
[OOC] WC GM: I.e., climb down the cable if you don't want to use the stairs.
[OOC] Abraham: "Well, yes. But ti's rude to call her that to her face."
Spyboy: "Take a look at this framegrab. It looks to me like…there WERE reactors there…but they were removed."
Abraham: "Abandoned maybe?"
Metis: "That would be so sad."
Abraham: "True. But it does happen from time to time."
Spyboy: "I think Zinda's going to grow a grappling hook and swing down, but the rest of us can't do that without a lab. Shall we?"Spyboy heads towards the stairs.Abraham also goes down the stairs.
[OOC] Abraham: Also I wouldn't really trust Metis on a grapnel line.
[OOC] WC GM: So - is Zinda climbing down?Zinda Tegram looks around, confused.
[OOC] Metis: Though in theory, Metis could just jump, but the ground underneath might not fare well…
Zinda Tegram: "I could swear I saw someone…"
Metis: "Where?"
Zinda Tegram: "Over here, by the elevator shaft."Zinda Tegram wanders back towards the stairs, but not without a look over her shoulder and a glance at her EM scanner.Metis orients the frame's scanners, searching for what Zinda saw, or for a sign of what Zinda saw…
[OOC] WC GM: There are five floors, 0-4. You start on floor 0. 1's the hangar, 2's the former power room, 3 has the figures, 4's where the elevator car is. Which floor do you go to?
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Hmm. We we are presently in the former power room?
[OOC] Spyboy: Nah, we were on floor 0.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Ah. No sweat then.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Take it floor by floor?
[OOC] Metis: But the end boss is always on the bottom floor.
Spyboy: "According to classic horror movie plots, we should go to the power room first and restart the power. That'll trap us here and enable the monsters inside the sealed rooms to escape."
Abraham: "Let's go investigate those shadowy figures then." ((Floor 3 at least))
Abraham: "And seriously, who designs building /or/ plots like that?"
Spyboy: "If we find a stack of Wenserbots, I am going to be so very unsurprised."Floor 3 is nearly pitch black. Fortunately the team has flashlights, low-light optical sensors, and other means of defeating the darkness.
[OOC] Metis: Take that, darkness!
[OOC] Abraham: Surprise! It's a stack of Zinda-bots. Zinda was Wenser all along.
[OOC] Spyboy: ….I thought you said it was a surprise? We already knew that.This seems to have been an office and workshop level, laid out not dissimilar to any capital ship's quarters.
[OOC] Abraham: Um… Zinda is Jesus in Purgatory?Zinda Tegram pauses and looks into the hangar room on the way down.
[OOC] Metis: Everyone is Zinda in Botanical-Purgatory.The hangar room has not been completely disused, but there is quite a bit of equipment here that could be scavenged - for the Roland or for Oldziey.Metis tunes the sensors to search out the figures that may or may not be there.Zinda Tegram makes a mental note to collect it later.Indeed, there are scuff marks leading from the elevator to the pad - looks like that's how the reactors were taken out.Zinda Tegram continues down.Toward the end of the main corridor on floor 3 are…yes indeed, two humanoid robots, decapitated and leaning against the sides. Scorch marks suggest energy weapons fire, consistent with standard Confederation sidearms.
Abraham: "So Zinda, you think these are what you saw?"
Zinda Tegram: "…Yeah."Zinda Tegram pushes one over and checks the power supply.The robot's power supply is salvageable, but its computer is fried beyond repair.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Is it on?
[OOC] WC GM: Nope
Abraham: "Hm… Spyboy, do you think we can rig up the robot's power supply to the elevator and get it to move?"
Spyboy: "….maybe? Robot power supplies usually don't have the same kind of current…but we could probably do something with it for a time."
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: What direction were the bots hit from?
Abraham: "Do it. I want the elevator brought up to this floor if possible."
[OOC] WC GM: The elevator.Spyboy nods. He exchanges a wordless look with Heggy, and the two of them separate the robot powerpacks from the robots.
Spyboy: "We'll need to head up to the power plant to splice these in…"
Abraham: "Right. Let's do that now."
Zinda Tegram: "…I'm not sure that's wise."
Spyboy: "You say that like you've ever let that stop you."
Zinda Tegram: "Whatever's down there, with the elevator immobile we have it cornered."
Zinda Tegram: "If you turn it on, the facility becomes a lot less predictable."
[OOC] WC GM: Anyone glancing down the stairs to floor 4?
Abraham: "Right. Immobile and possibly in need of aid or even possibly arrest."
[OOC] Abraham: I amA quick check shows a further problem: rubble blocks the stairs one floor down. Given the distribution, this may be affecting the elevator too.Abraham points out the debris to the others.
Heggy: "Besides, it's the necessary next step in the plot. We have to reactivate the power systems to release the monster."
[OOC] Metis: How long/hard would it be to clear the debris?Abraham sighs. "This is not a horror movie. If this were any sort of movie, it would be military action at best. A poor one."
Heggy: "Please, Admiral. Most of the time, sure. But right now? In this place? Totally horror."
Zinda Tegram: "Huh. How thick are the floors here?"
Abraham: "Um… no. Right now? Spy-Thriller."Zinda Tegram examines the maps.
[OOC] Metis: *coughcoughwronggenresavvycough*
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: This is horror. And Zinda is the confident lady with the gun who lasts the first 3/4 of the movie.
[OOC] WC GM: Removing the debris would take a while - and there's the little problem of where you remove it to.
[OOC] Spyboy: Zinda is the Vasquez.
[OOC] Abraham: Quick show of hands. Who's still a virgin?
[OOC] Spyboy: Metis? I hope?
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Zinda is the Vasquez.
[OOC] Metis: ….that term is wildly inaccurate, but I would agree that anything incapable of sex can safely be said never to have had sex.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: And like Vasquez, she is inclined to gas whatever is down there.
Metis: "If this is a movie, where are the cameras?"
[OOC] WC GM: Metis is technically capable of sex, like most ambulatory sentient beings with a tactile sense, even if devoid of the standard primary sexual organs. But that is pure semantics.
Abraham: "Yes! Thank you, Metis. My point exactly!"
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: How thick are the floors?Depowered security cameras glint in the far corners of the corridor.
Spyboy: "A, everywhere. B, obviously they're not filming a movie here. We're talking about the situation within the film, not the film within the context of being filmed."
[OOC] WC GM: These floors are cuttable through.
Spyboy: "Sometimes you just have to let things go, Admiral. Don't focus on minutia."
Spyboy: "Speaking of minutia…does anyone know if the elevator has an escape hatch? Most do, and that would let us get to Level 4 if the elevator doors are clear."
[OOC] Abraham: WC, is that true? I've never seen an elevator with an escape hatch, but then again I'm a 21st century primitive.
Zinda Tegram: "Stand back." To the blob: "You too."
[OOC] WC GM: Even if not, Zinda can make one. The elevator walls are thinner than the floors.As Zinda inspects the floor, she can see cracks coming from a nearby room.
[OOC] Abraham: "Another point. We're not in a horror movie if the monster is on our side."Zinda Tegram flicks her torch on, heads to an area the map says should have a room under it, and…wait what?Zinda Tegram flicks her torch off and takes a closer look.
[OOC] WC GM: Heading to that room?
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Rolling a sensor orb in first, but yes.Opening the door, Zinda sees the problem before she can loose an orb. The floor has caved in - been blasted in, using a serious quantity of explosives.
Zinda Tegram: "Damn…"The resulting distribution of rubble would indeed block the stairs - but seems to have been crafted to make a rubble ramp. Underneath the ramp can be seen the mangled remains of several robots, perhaps lured into position first.Zinda Tegram turns on EM and sets to making sure each robot is thoroughly dead. and disconnecting power supplies where possible.
Abraham: "Spyboy, is it possible to access the robot's memory cores? I'm suddenly /very/ curious what happened here."A glance around reveals that someone had a firefight, and the party was not invited. More destroyed robots litter the level.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Are the robots armed?
Spyboy: "I'll check, sir. Not a chance with the others' - carbonization kills the memory…"All of the robots were equipped with standard sidearms, similar to what appears to have destroyed them. Many of the robots - especially those in the pile - were destroyed thoroughly enough that they could no longer be considered "armed" …in either the "equipped with weapons" or the "humanoid body plan" sense.Zinda Tegram proceeds to confiscate available firearms.
[OOC] Spyboy: Zinda now has a large messenger bag full of pistols?
[OOC] WC GM: Pretty much.
[OOC] Metis: Look out monster, we've got sidearms!This floor is more of a laboratory, open plan dominated by a central surgical theater, which has not been cleaned since it was last used.
[OOC] Abraham: No. Zinda has a bag full of hard heavy things that she will hit the monster with.
[OOC] WC GM: Spyboy's been actively scanning, yes?Zinda Tegram double checks her respirator before walking over to the surgical lab.
[OOC] Spyboy: Not so much active as massively passive.
[OOC] WC GM: Close enough.
[OOC] Spyboy: Spyboy's sensor technique is more informed by submarines than by ground control…Spyboy follows Zinda down the ramp, energy pistol raised, mounted flashlight engaged.
Spyboy: "Creepy."Before Zinda can reach the enclosed and sealed surgical area (think "biohazard containment" ), Spyboy's sensors pick up the remaining mote signals - all from within that enclosure. They also positively identify the other remaining EM signals as belonging to the few partially active (though idling, and most just laying on the floor, for lack of control signals) robots.
[OOC] Spyboy: "Oh, I'm sorry, Zinda. I shouldn't have said that where you could hear."
Spyboy: "I'm getting EM responses. Looks like some of the robots out here are still active…and we have Kalibots inside the surgical area."
Zinda Tegram: "…Cute. Time for a test, then."
Zinda Tegram: "$Sic'em.$"
[OOC] WC GM: How are you getting the blood goo inside, without letting the Kalibots out?
[OOC] WC GM: Also, does the blood goo stick to the ground?
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: The plan was to poke a hole and jam it with goo. Also I was thinking it would boil, and that would aerosolize it.
Zinda Tegram: "Let's see…start with the robots, I guess, they might be infected."Zinda's red follower thing begins to start boiling off into a fine red mist.The plan works - though the surgical area's containment will need repair afterward, Spyboy's sensors detect a rapid diminishment of Kalibot count.
Spyboy: "Exercise caution. We have active bioweapons in play."Zinda Tegram stretches, clearly pleased with herself.
[OOC] Abraham: "Besides Zinda, I mean."And then the mites coalesce, Spyboy's sensors showing they are going active quickly.
Zinda Tegram: "Alright, then."
Spyboy: "…..We have bioweapon on bioweapon combat."
Kali: "Abraham." It is her voice, coming from the concentration, slightly muffled but still clear.
Spyboy: "Admiral, can you hear this?"
Zinda Tegram: "What, you want me to call them off?"
Kali: "I assume it's you. Only you would come here."
Kali: "And that means you want answers."
Abraham: "I can indeed. Hold them off for a moment Zinda. She is right, I do very much want answers."Zinda Tegram pheromones out an order to retreat and block the hole.
Kali: "I came here tracking Wenser. As you have probably guessed, he is not who he seems."A mass of red goo slowly begins congealing around the hole poked in containment.
Spyboy: "Besides, under the circumstances you can't just kill everything in here…"
Abraham: "There's a lot of that going around."
Abraham: "So, what have you deduced Wenser to be?"
Kali: "I…suspect he may have connections to the Nephilim. And…and you might not believe me, but I'm pretty certain he is a distributed intelligence. That or he's just better with remotes than I am…ha!"
Zinda Tegram: "Should we tell her, Abraham?"
Abraham: "I'll let you tell her."
Spyboy: "Tell her what? We know some of what she said is true, and other parts we don't."
Kali: "I, too, have been…investigating remote bodies. These sensors of mine have been getting more and more capable over the years."
Kali: "I…if what I've found is correct, I think there is a way, using his records and technology, to translate myself into them completely."Zinda Tegram frowns.
Kali: "I'm going to try that out on Oldziey. Ha! Let them TRY to stop me once they can't just shoot me any more."
Abraham: "And what would be the purpose of doing this?"Spyboy frowns as well.
Kali: "…by the time you hear this you probably already know how that went."
Zinda Tegram: "This is pre-recorded, isn't it?"
Spyboy: "Agreed."
Zinda Tegram: "Tch…"
Abraham: "That explains her lack of reaction to anything we say."
Zinda Tegram: "Well let's hear it out."
Kali: "If you're hearing this then either you're hot on my heels, or…well. If it goes well I plan to come back here, clean up, and properly document this all."
Kali: "I know nothing like this has ever been done. And I'm not the best brain surgeon - but there's no one I can trust but myself. I haven't even had a real crew on my carrier for years now."
Spyboy: "Sometimes I worry that I'll follow that path…"Heggy kisses Spyboy on the cheek.
Heggy: "You won't."
Kali: "If worst comes to worst, I'll leave a copy of my research on my carrier. You can get the files from there."
Zinda Tegram: "…Huh."
Abraham: "Well, this wasn't a total waste of time at least."
Zinda Tegram: "We're not done here yet."
Kali: "Of course, the computer in this bay also has a copy of the procedure I'm using. It's a destructive brain scan; my body, as it is now, won't survive the process."
Kali: "Ha ha, all these years of playing it cautious and now I'm taking a bigger risk than anyone. That's probably why I'm recording this: to build up my own courage."
Kali: "Oh, and if Zinda's with you, tell her I said-"Spyboy grabs Heggy and hits the deck, just in case.The mites fall silent. Spyboy's scanners confirm they ran out of power - apparently the plan had been for more of the mites to survive long enough to power the message.
Zinda Tegram: "Cute."
[OOC] Abraham: The deck gives Spyboy a hurt look. What did it ever do to you?Zinda Tegram sends a few red motes to go jiggle with them.
Spyboy: "….sensors show the Kalibots are inactive…which raises some questions about Oldziey."The dead, unresponsive motes are quickly consumed.Spyboy helps Heggy back up, kisses her on the cheek in apology, and starts scanning the EM signatures in the room.
Zinda Tegram: "I'll get the rest of it in her words."Abraham makes sure a copy of Kali's message gets preserved.Zinda Tegram retrieves her red goo.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: You were just waiting for a chance to end on that line and keep the tension going, weren't you?
[OOC] WC GM: *bows*Spyboy pings the robots with the Nephilim handshake protocol, as well as more standard Confederation protocols.
[OOC] WC GM: That said, did you want to end session here, or do a bit more first? Since it's almost time.
[OOC] Abraham: Frankly during that whole time I had 2132 AD theme from Chrono Trigger running through my head.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: I strongly suspect that even if I hadn't damaged the swarm, you would of found another reason to end it.
[OOC] Abraham: Let's end here. It's an easy enough point to resume from after a week's hiatus.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: There is one more mystery I'd like to check.The robots are offline. If they have neu-comms, they are not responding.
[OOC] Spyboy: Well, there's not a whole lot left to do in the facility…then we can reconvene on the ship to discuss next session.
Spyboy: "We need to retrieve the data from that computer the Kalibots mentioned."Zinda Tegram wanders up to one of the robots.
Abraham: "Yes. If there are any answers, they will be there."
Spyboy: "We can get a bit more information about the ones on Oldziey - and we can find her carrier."
Zinda Tegram: "Laser fire damage…Kali isn't the type to record under fire, so why…."
Spyboy: "I assumed she fought her way in here."
Zinda Tegram: "Kali's carrier is unmanned, so could the robots be hers…?"
Zinda Tegram: "Fought what?"
Spyboy: "Are these not Wenserbots?"
Spyboy: "I suppose they could be hers…"
Spyboy: "But then, like you said, what did they fight?"
Abraham: "I suspect there is a mix."
Zinda Tegram: "Whatever they fought, it used confed sidearms."Spyboy proceeds down to the medical bay and starts looking for the computer in question.
Zinda Tegram: "…Hold on…Spyboy do you have a chem scanner?"The robots seem to be prototype Wenserbots, possibly.Zinda Tegram starts hunting around for signs of acid burns.The surgical bay's main computer is easy to spot, off to the side.
Spyboy: "….Technically not, but I have a spectrograph that I can run an analysis program on."Spyboy tosses it to Zinda.Acid self-destruction appears to be one of the features these prototypes lack.
Zinda Tegram: "…Huh. Well…"The main computer is heavy enough that it sits on a wheeled dolly. Though Zinda is strong enough to pick it up - as are Heggy and Spyboy combined.Zinda Tegram finds a reasonably intact robot and feeds it to the red goo to get the design.
[OOC] WC GM: Alertness check from Spyboy.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Assuming she also got the mote design this way.Spyboy rolled up 4dF: + 0 + 0 (Base: 5 Total: 7) (Alertness + First Principle of Warfare)WC GM rolled up 4dF: 0 + + - (Base: 6 Total: 7) (Stealth)Spyboy isn't as alert as he could be. But he doesn't have to be - he already knows where he needs to be looking.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Another tag?
[OOC] Spyboy: Tapping Heggy's Heat Vision.Spyboy sees the hidden motion sensor on the bottom of the computer - just after he has nudged it Zinda's way.
[OOC] WC GM: Tapping Concealed Trap
[OOC] Spyboy: Can I tap one of Metis's Aspects, through the Data Bridge?
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: …Clever.
[OOC] Metis: You should be able to.
[OOC] Spyboy: Also, I wasn't gonna move it…I was gonna upload it's contents to my fighter.
[OOC] Spyboy: Tapping Metis's Cold Grey Eyes, then.
[OOC] WC GM: You were moving it to Zinda, no?
[OOC] Metis: Noooo, my eyes….
[OOC] Spyboy: No, I was tossing the spectrograph to Zinda.
[OOC] Spyboy: There may have been lag involved.
[OOC] WC GM: Ah.
Spyboy: "….Motion sensor. Could be…well, anything really, but it's pretty dang well hidden."Spyboy sees the hidden motion sensor on the bottom of the computer, in time to not budge it.There is a similar power-on sensor inside the computer.And a directional, very short range radio transmitter, pointed at one of the rooms above.
Spyboy: "I'm…not sure why it would - unless."
Spyboy: "Kali wanted Abraham to have this information…but it was Wenser's computer first."
Abraham: "Could it already have been triggered and that's what caused the explosion damage we've already seen?"There are no power signatures from that direction…but the antenna's signal would be enough beamed power to turn something on.
Spyboy: "Not impossible - but I figured the explosion damage was Kali blowing her way in."
[OOC] WC GM: It's a room on floor 3 that you haven't been to yet. Going there?
[OOC] Abraham: Yes. But most likely next session.
[OOC] Metis: ^
Spyboy: "I think it'd be a good idea for me to check the room out before we try to do anything with the computer…"
Abraham: "I agree."
[OOC] Spyboy: "I'll go check it out by myself. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
[OOC] WC GM: Depends on how you approach it. Is Spyboy just going up and opening the door?
[OOC] Metis: Hey Spyboy, is that just the wind?
[OOC] Spyboy: Huh, it was a cat.
[OOC] WC GM: :3
[OOC] Spyboy: Who, Spyboy, who uses paranoia instead of dodging for defense? Not on your life. =D
[OOC] Spyboy: Especially since we started running into Kali's work.
[OOC] Spyboy: In fact…
Spyboy: "…..This could take a while. I'll need to recheck my sensors for anything Kali might have managed to sneak into them before I try going into that room."
Spyboy: "Metis, could you stay down here and watch through my eyes?"
Zinda Tegram: "I'll check it out."
[OOC] Spyboy: Pffft
Metis: "Yes."
Spyboy: "….Or not."
Spyboy: "…..Well. I hope she doesn't get blown up."
[OOC] WC GM: Zinda's just opening it, then?
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: The door to the room? Yeah. From the side.On the one hand, the bots in this room are a lot more intact! On the other…
ChorusOfBootingUpBots: "INTRUDER ALERT!"